Prospect Park Management Plan

Prospect Park Management and Maintenance Plan PROSPECT PARK MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE PLAN Reading Borough Council April 2008 to March 2018 Updated January 2009 1 Prospect Park Management and Maintenance Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. STRATEGIC CONTEXT, POLICIES AND LEGAL ISSUES 2 2.1 Planning policy and designations 2 2.2 Strategic objectives 2 2.3 City 2020 Vision and Community Strategy 2 2.4 Cultural Strategy 3 2.5 Other relevant strategies 4 2.6 Leases and covenants 4 2.7 Byelaws 4 3. SITE DESCRIPTION 5 3.1 Significance of the site 5 3.2 Location, size, access and context 5 3.3 Physical characteristics and landscape character 5 3.4 A brief history of the site 7 4. VISION, OBJECTIVES AND GOALS 8 4.1 Vision 8 4.2 Objectives 8 4.3 Short-, medium- and long-term goals 11 5. MANAGEMENT AND STAFFING 14 5.1 Management structure and responsibilities 14 5.2 Annual management programme 14 5.3 Staffing 14 5.4 Specialist work 15 5.5 Community consultation and information 15 6. CHARACTER AREAS, MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES AND OTHER WORKS 19 7. MAINTENANCE SPECIFICATION 36 7.1 Cleanliness 36 7.2 Grass maintenance 36 7.3 Beds and borders 43 7.4 Trees and hedges 53 7.5 Hard surfaces 56 7.6 Structures: buildings, walls, fences, railings and other structures 61 7.7 Furniture 64 7.8 Ponds 64 7.9 Sports facilities 64 7.10 Children’s play areas 65 7.11 Grounds inspection checklist 65 8. MONITORING AND PLAN REVIEW 68 REFERENCES 69 2 Prospect Park Management and Maintenance Plan APPENDICES 70 Appendix A: Byelaws relating to Forbury Gardens Appendix B: Civic Trust Green Flag Award criteria Appendix C: Test methods for turf Appendix D: Recommended treatments for specific stains on hard surfaces Appendix E: Consultative group Appendix F: Minutes of meetings with user groups Appendix G: Monitoring and inspections LIST OF TABLES Table 5-1: Annual management programme 16 Table 6-1: Management and maintenance schedule 20 Table 6-2: Tree plan schedule 32 Table 7-1: Maintenance objectives: grass 37 Table 7-2: Maintenance operations: grass 38 Table 7-3: Maintenance operations: soft landscaping 42 Table 7-4: Operations in different seasons on various aspects of soft landscape 47 Table 7-5: Maintenance objectives: hard surfaces 58 Table 7-6: Maintenance operations: hard surfaces 59 Table 7-7: Maintenance operations: structures 62 Table 7-8: Checklist for inspecting landscape features 66 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3-1: Aerial photograph of Prospect Park 6 3 Prospect Park Management and Maintenance Plan 1. INTRODUCTION This document is a management and maintenance plan for Prospect Park, an area of public parkland of approximately 50 hectares, located on the Bath Road in West Reading. It has been prepared by the Parks and Open Spaces Team within the Environment, Culture and Sport Directorate of Reading Borough Council (RBC). The park is the largest and most popular in Reading, used for formal and informal sport, children’s play and teenage recreation, dog-walking, events and other general recreation, and as a through route between the Bath and Tilehurst Roads. Prospect Park has been owned by RBC since 1902, and is Reading’s largest open space. The open parkland of Prospect Park gets its name from the fine views across the Kennet Valley and beyond, which can be seen from the Mansion House. The Regency white stuccoed Grade II listed mansion, now a restaurant, is set on a hill at the highest point of the park. The park has broad sweeps of short cut grass, with areas of conservation grassland. An artificial pond, which attracts wildlife, was created to the south of the house, and to the north is 'The Rookery', a Wildlife Heritage Site, which is a small piece of mature oak woodland. A mini steam train, run by voluntary enthusiasts runs on summer weekends near the Bath Road entrance. There is a well-equipped children’s play area, and use of the tennis courts is free. The park hosts a variety of annual events, including Reading Carnival a steam fair and a charity Santa jog, as well as regular car boot sales throughout the summer. This management plan complies with best practice, and should be used together with the RBC Parks Maintenance Handbook, which is derived from British Standards guidelines, and the A3 maintenance maps. It is intended to provide a strategy for management for an initial period of ten years, from April 2008 to March 2018, but it should be viewed as a flexible tool to be updated in order to guide management of the park in the future. 4 Prospect Park Management and Maintenance Plan 2. STRATEGIC CONTEXT, POLICIES AND LEGAL ISSUES 2.1 Planning policy and designations The relevant local authority planning policy document relating to the site is the Reading Borough Council Local Plan (1998; currently being revised). Within the Plan, Prospect Park is identified (i) as a major area of recreational open space, (ii) as a wildlife link, (iii) as a major landscape feature, and (iv) as an historic garden. RBC Local Plan LEI 2, NE3, NE4 and CUD 10: the Council will not normally allow any development or change of use on or adjacent to these sites which would affect their character, the use or enjoyment of them or change any part of them or their setting. The Borough Council will encourage the conservation, maintenance and, as appropriate restoration of historic parks and gardens at Caversham Court, Forbury Gardens, Prospect Park, Caversham Park and elsewhere in the Borough, and will not normally permit any development which would adversely affect any part of them or their setting. (CUD 10) The park is listed as Grade II in the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens (No. GD 1579. The Council has an obligation to safeguard during ongoing management the features and qualities which make the landscape of national importance, and to obtain listed building consent if any change is being considered which could affect any of the structures. There are no features designated for their archaeological importance in Prospect Park. The park forms part of an identified wildlife link in the Local Plan. Policy NE3 seeks to consolidate, extend and enhance the network of wildlife links and to protect such links from anything that would threaten its integrity. 2.2 Strategic objectives As a freely accessible showpiece urban park with historical interest and sport/play provision, Prospect Park contributes to all three of the Council’s strategic objectives: • To develop Reading as a green city with a sustainable environment and economy at the heart of the Thames Valley • To promote equality, social inclusion and a safe and healthy environment for all • To establish Reading as a learning city and a stimulating and rewarding place to live in and visit Each of these objectives is given substance in the following RBC strategic plans. 2.3 City 2020 Vision and Community Strategy One of the objectives of the Reading City 2020 Vision was to enhance and increase access to open space, as a key building block of a sustainable community. The Reading 2020 Community Strategy sets the broad vision for public open space: Everyone will be able to enjoy high quality public open spaces that are clean, safe and well- maintained. Our rivers and canals will be the focus for an interconnected series of accessible and desirable public spaces, providing a range of natural and urban experiences. In addition there will be a choice of accessible, high quality public parks and open spaces that together will provide places for people to meet, play and relax. These open areas will incorporate a range of habitats that will help maintain and enhance the diversity of local wildlife, and provide for a better overall quality of life. 2 Prospect Park Management and Maintenance Plan Seven key themes have been identified in the Community Strategy, to the achievement of all of which Prospect Park makes a contribution: accessible spaces, healthy people, an inclusive society, a learning community, quality environments, safe places, and a thriving economy. Safety is a major public concern, and the management plan is concerned to ensure that visitors to the park feel safe. This includes reintroducing site-based staff, installing new lighting when resources become available, and reducing spaces where antisocial behaviour occurs. 2.4 Cultural Strategy The Cultural Strategy affirms the importance of Reading’s parks, open space and waterways, and sets the objective of protecting and maximising the potential of the Thames and Kennet rivers. The strategy is set within the context of the City 2020 vision, and itself promotes a vision of Reading as a leisure city, with cultural facilities that reflect its identity as a growing regional capital. Prospect Park contributes to almost all of the objectives of the Cultural Strategy: • Access: The park offers a very wide range of opportunities for recreation and children’s play, both paid and free of charge, every day of the year. The park also provides a venue for community events. • Health: The park is a place for sport, relaxation, walking and social interaction for local workers and residents, and are particularly well used for organised sport, children’s play and dog-walking. Reading’s varied Active Parks programme is based at Prospect Park. • Learning: The park contributes to learning in a number of ways. It is used by ecological groups that organise natural history workshops for children; it is used for horticultural training by the Council’s Parks Department; and the sports facilities are used for training by local schools and sports clubs.

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